Are there benefits to deforestation?

Of course there are benefits! The easiest benefits to see are the economic ones. Even the black market gets plenty of business from deforestation. Deforestation has created millions of jobs over the years in construction, manufacturing furniture and dishes, cattle farming and even glue making (from tree sap). Lumber is one the most used products throughout the world, so it's certainly a market that people want to be a part of.